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Lahaule
|Row 9 title = |Row 9 info = |Row 10 title = |Row 10 info = }} Roseblessed goddess of the four primal elements, Lahaule inhabits any of four different bodies depending upon her mercurial moods, the occasion, and as divine functions required of her arise, each molded from the substance it embodies: • Lahaule of the Flame appears as a tanned woman whose skin radiates intense heat, both her hair and eyes composed of searing orange flame. Her dress is typically filmy and diaphonous, draping to her feet. • Lahaule of the Deep is composed wholle of smooth, sculpture-like animated ice. • Lahaule of the Mountain appears as a stately, mature woman in scholar's robes with features carved from marble, said to be modeled on the appearance of a legendary champion of earth in ancient tales. • Lahaule of the Storm eschews corporeal form, localized gusts of wind and vapor suggesting the outline of a body as it suits her to convey gesture and emotion to those around her. Her associated animal is the stag, and she is often depicted with antlers wrought from the same element as her chosen body. Dogma Like her cousin Roseblessed god Férus, Lahaule has fallen out of what little favor she had since the Breaking, having once represented the interests of the natural world and primal balance in the religious affairs of the Dominion -- but now, with the Dominion itself cut off from the verdant lands it once occupied, her worshippers have fallen to a scarce few. Nowadays, followers of Lahaule encourage the beautification of the city, using the canals as natural irrigation to feed lush courtyards and sanctums for visiting denizens of the Loam. Hers is a doctrine of synthesis; as the four primal elements combine to form yet greater materials, so too do the natural and artificial worlds create a symbiotic whole. As a druidic goddess, however, she imposes restrictions upon her followers' day-to-day lives, requiring that they eschew metalwork and other artificial products of civilization, with some pre-Breaking extremists even taking to the wilds of the Loam as all-but-tribal hermits. While she regards civilization as a necessary evil, to live closer to the natural state of things, she teaches, is to grow in practical wisdom -- and this doctrine predictably made her unpopular with the excessively "civilized" Dominionites even before the Breaking. In fact, Lahaule's is the most tenuous position in the pantheon, having only gained Roseblessed status by the grace of Father Radiant Vesaix DeSalle in order to mollify an unexpectedly powerful sect of ecoterrorists during his tumultuous reign -- and now, though she enjoys the honors of the other gods of the modern pantheon, Lahaule has once again become a marginalized and largely forgotten god in all but name. That said, she rewards those who yet adhere to her teachings all the more for their tenacity. Clergy & Temples Despite living amongst luxury, priests of Lahaule assume the austere lifestyle often associated with druidism, forgoing all modern conveniences except the most vital in the name of preserving a balance between nature and nurture within the Dominion (manifesting mechanically as the Vow of Poverty feat found in the Book of Exalted Deeds). Her clerics wear vestment in the four colors of her elemental embodiments -- red, blue, brown, and white -- and carry with them some artifact of the particular element they choose to pledge themselves to, be it a pinch of ash, granite dust, a vial of water, a feather, etc. Her "cathedral" is located beneath the Dominion proper, within a section of the city's catacombs allowed to become overgrown and returned to their natural, cave-like state... and the goings-on of her worship there are known only to members of her cult. Only a single member of her clergy, Brother Jhaschea the Greenwise, serves to represent her interests in the ranks of the Rose Clergy. Avatars Whichever three of Lahaule's four shifting forms she does not inhabit in a given moment serve as her avatars, walking in the natural world to cultivate balance, encouraging the elements' destructive nature in some places while enforcing temperance in others; raging storms and babbling, delicate streams alike are said to be her handiwork. Typically, she only appears to elementals or genasi -- her favored "children" -- should she need to interact with the sentient races. Category:Planeswatch Category:Deities Category:Roseblessed Category:Non-Player Characters